Rockets, Nets to play in China

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BEIJING -- The NBA will again head to China for the preseason, as the New Jersey Nets and Houston Rockets will meet for a pair of games in October.

This will be the fifth set of preseason games in China for the NBA.

The Rockets and Nets will meet on Oct. 13 at Wukesong Arena, then will play three days later at the Guangzhou International Sports Arena. The Wukesong Arena hosted the basketball games for the 2008 Olympics.

"This event will give our great fans in China an authentic NBA experience with two live games in state-of-the-art arenas," said NBA China CEO Tim Chen. "We will work closely with the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), the local basketball associations, and all of our partners in China to create events and basketball development programs that will reach fans well beyond the games."

The Rockets are expected to have Chinese star Yao Ming back after he missed the entire 2009-10 season recovering from reconstructive surgery on his left foot. The top pick in the 2002 draft, Yao has career averages of 19.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in 481 games over seven seasons with the Rockets.

It will mark the second visit to China for Houston, which played the first set of games in the country back in 2004.